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BALKAN SLAVS 


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in oAmerica and a4broad 




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An address delivered 

'By 

Alexander Grau Wandmayer 

formerly Commissioner Plenipotentiary of the Ukrainian Government 

with the International Commission for the 

Liquidation of Austria 

before students of racial backgrounds 
at 


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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 

JULY 28th, 1922 



The Balkan Slavs 

in America and 

Abroad 



An address delivered 

By 
ALEXANDER GRAU WANDMAYER 

tormerly Commissioner Plenipotentiary of the Ukrainian Qovernment 

with the International Commission for the Liquidation of Austria 

before students of racial backgrounds at 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 

July 28thy ig22 






By Tiransfer 

APR 3 1923 



Max Schmetterling, Printer, 42 Bond St., New York 



I have been invited to speak on Balkan Slav life and culture, 
a subject on which information is not readily obtainable in books 
or other publications. It has also been suggested that I omit 
politics and history — an extremely difficult task. We are living 
in an age of print and communication, and no writer, speaker 
or student who believes that his observations and speculations 
are original, can be sure that the very thing he may say, has not 
previously been observed and said by others. Moreover, it is 
no less difficult to speak of the life and culture of races and 
nations, without alluding, at least, to their history and political 
life. Is not the character of a race or a nation the product of 
its history and the nature of its soil? And is not national char- 
acter influenced by politics? Has the world at large any fair 
idea as to what extent Prussia was influenced by the political 
ideals and teachings of Treitschke, Fichte, Bismarck, or List? 
Or, to use a better illustration : compare English life and culture 
under Victoria, with English life and customs under Cromwell! 

Balkan Slav life, social attitude, habits, folk-lore and music 
were and are, to this day so interwoven with politics, that it is 
almost impossible to draw an accurate picture of these nations 
and races without touching upon their historical past and the 
political athmosphere prevailing in those countries today. The 
rough and changeable climate of the Balkan mountains; and the 
prolific soil whicih, nevertheless, is tillable only with great efifort, 
in some parts of those wonderful and wildly romantic regions, 
have been instrumental in rearing and nurturing of races as hard 
and tenacious as their rocky native hills. The Balkan Slavs have 
■been for centuries the puppets of Turkish, Magyar and Russian 
intrigues; for centuries they have been oppressed by the Turk, 
and often decimated by merciless invaders. Yet it was their great 
cohesiveness and unyielding character which enabled them to 
withstand unspeakable cruelties and to escape extermination. 

The Balkan Slavs represent the most remarkable racial blend- 
ing, and it was this blend of various Indo-European and Asiatic 



tribes, that imprinted upon the Balkan Slavs many unsympathetic 
as well as many admirable traits. To the students of ethno- 
graphy, the Balkan is a very interesting field, indeed; and it is 
amazing that many a traveler — ignorant of the language of these 
various races, their habits, characteristics and aspirations, past 
and present — undertakes to write books and articles on these 
peoples. Such travelers often come to the Balkans with pre- 
conceived opinions, according to their political affiliations, and 
— consequently — ^their views are either pregnant with contempt 
or undue praise and admiration. 

We must bear in mind that the Balkan Slavs, in spite of their 
continual gravitation toward European and, particularly, West- 
ern civilisation, are intrinsically Orientals. (Above all, it is 
Byzantine culture, the Greek Oriental Church, which has left 
to this day its deep imprint on the minds of the Balkan Slavs 
whose language is Slavonic, although a very considerable number 
of them are of Mongolo-Tatar origin. It would lead too far to 
go into the history of the Balkan races, particularly as this is not 
the object of this paper. My purpose is to answer the following 
questions : 

( 1 ) Who are those immigrants who come here in such large 
numbers from the Balkans, and whom we know as Balkan Slavs ? 

(2) What is their actual or potential contribution to Amer- 
ican culture and the enrichment of American life? 

(3) What are the qualities and characteristics that prevent 
their adjustment to American life? 

(4) What are the conditions which now interfere with an 
intelligent appreciation of the Balkan Slav group in the United 
States ? 

(5) What, therefore, should constitute the emphasis in the 
educational program outlined for them? 

I shall have to speak, then, of Serbs, Croatians, Slovenes, Bos- 
niaks, Bulgars, Herzegovinians, Montenegrins, Roumanians and 
Dalmatians, although all these races and nations are not the 
only inhabitants of that Eastern portion of Europe known as the 
Balkan Peninsula. Apart from the nations above mentioned, 
there are also Turks, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Albanians, 
Gypsies, and other tribes in the Balkan, though — with the ex- 



ception of the great percentage of Turks — ^their number is neg- 
ligeable. 

I shall not attempt to vouch for the exactness of the various 
population statistics given below. 

The country known today as Jugo-Slavia, or the Kingdom 
of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, has a population of about 
14,000,000 and is composed of Serbia, Croatia, Slavonia, Dal- 
matia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Istria, Montenegro and a large part 
of former Hungary. 

We see, therefore, that the country embodies a mixture of 
races and nationalities, united by one common language (although 
the Slovenian idiom slightly differs from the Serbian or Croatian). 
There is, however, a prominent cultural disftiinction between 
Serbs and Croats, Dalmatians and Slovenes. The Serbs have a 
more Byzantinian culture; they are all members of the Greek- 
Orthodox Church, and they write and print with the characters 
of the old Slavonic or Cyrillic alphabet. The Croatians, Sloven- 
ians and Dalmatians, on the other hand, are Roman Catholics, 
and have used the Latin alphabet for centuries. But almost 
all races of the Jugo-Slavia of today seem to be of the same 
stock. In general, they are tall and nimble, with well-shaped 
heads, oval faces, and of light complexion. They are buoyant, 
vivacious and intelligent. 

This cannot be said of the Bulgarians and Roumanians who 
are generally short, sturdy, and of swarthy complexion. Their 
skulls are short, thick, and strong, and they are of rugged health 
and strength. Therefore, speaking of a person of endurance 
and perseverance, the Greek will say : ''This man has a Bulgarian 
head." The chin and the mouth of the Bulgarians and Rouman- 
ians are generally large and strong, and the Bulgarians are often 
recognized by their strong features, that is, their long and straight 
noses. The population of Bulgaria is about 6,000,000, while that 
of Greater Roumania, to which under the Treaty of St. Germain 
was allotted all of the Dobrudja, Transylvania, Bucovina and 
Bessarabia, amounts to nearly 18,000,000. 

While it is true that the Roumanians claim to be the descend- 
ants of Roman Colonists (Dacia was a penal colony of the Roman 
Empire), the influence of Slavic blood was so strong, that it is 



often very difficult to distinguish between the Roumanian and 
the Bulgarian. There is also a great number of fair Bulgarians, 
particularly in the North of Bulgaria. 

AH the races of the Balkan have in common : admirably 
developed muscles, fit for the hardest v^ork; self-sufficiency and 
obstinacy. Serbians, Croatians and Dalmatians or Montenegrins 
are quick-tempered and passionate ; the Bulgar and Roumanian, 
again, slow and phlegmatic and obdurate. The Roumanian is 
fond of good living ; the Bulgarian, on the other hand, is modest ; 
but all of them, Roumanians, Bulgarians, Serbs, Montenegrins or 
Slovenes alike, are political beings so to speak, and all are ready 
to fight and die for their political ideals or for a strip of land. 

Another feature common to all the Balkan races, is their sus- 
picious nature and a constant mistrust. Their thrift is so great 
as to approach the brink of avarice. All of them are talkative, 
very proud and boisterous. Their intelligence and natural gift 
for foreign languages is comparable only with the similar aptitude 
of educated Poles and Russians. 

The natural resources of the Balkans are very rich. There are 
ore deposits, extensive forests, fertile soil. Yet, numerous dis- 
tricts of the Balkan are extremely poor, owing to their mountain- 
ous character, viz. : Herzegovina, Montenegro and Dalmatia ; and 
the poor population of these regions generally emigrate. 

The Dalmatians belong to the oldest Slavonic immigrants in 
this country. They are great sailors and they have settled here 
largely in the so-called maritime States. 

Dalmatia, as has (been said, is a poor country, one of Nature's 
step-children, and has been systematically empoverished by 
Austria for more than a century. 

In literature the Balkan Slavs have not accomplished much. 
Early Jugo-Slav literature is mainly of a religious type, produced 
under the Serbian Czars in the fourteenth century. After the 
disaster of Kossovo, in 1389, and the Turkish conquests, Slavonic 
culture seemed to be doomed. In fact, from then until the nine- 
teenth century, nothing has been written: folk-songs and poems 
were transmitted orally. 

The great majority of the Balkan Slavs consist of peasants, 
and all are very democratic. There is no nobility ; but the peasant 



land-owner feels like an aristocrat, and is therefore, possessed 
of considerable self-reliance. All are diligent and religious; 
they have much respect for authority, and love family life. 
Divorce is almost unknown in the Balkan. While it is true that 
the Balkan Slav woman is not always considered as the fore- 
most person in the family, the stranger who would dare molest 
the wife, sister or daughter of a Balkan Slav, would be roughly 
dealt with. 

Of course, there were sad exceptions under Austro-Magyar 
domination, when public houses were openly maintained and the 
proceeds of the business of shame divided between the keepers 
of those houses and the police. But such exceptions exist even 
in highly civilized countries. 

Owing to the parsimonious inclination of the Balkan Slav, the 
extensive hospitality practised in other Slavic countries is not 
much in evidence in the Balkan, but the general attitude toward 
friends is not ungenerous. 

The village woman is completely defenceless before her hus- 
band or the elder of the family. A young girl is rarely per- 
mitted to marry for love. Material considerations form the basis 
of marriage. But the Balkan is coming abreast of the times, and 
the woman of today employs not only her muscular strength, but 
her mental faculties as well. We find today, in Jugo-Slavia and 
in Bulgaria, many intellectual women — ^physicians, school teach- 
ers and office workers. 

There is a great local field for the improvement of public 
institutions and hygienic conditions, and a vast number of in- 
tellectual workers is required. 

In many cases, particularly in the cities, the Balkan woman of 
today is not content with a professional career. She also takes 
an active part in politics and in the social struggle. 

There are not many industrial establishments, except primitive 
domestic industry. Generally speaking, the inhabitants of the 
Balkan are farmers. The Bulgarians breed sheep, the Serbs hogs, 
and all of them have a pronounced ability of acquiring money. 
The educated classes are now journalists, or lawyers, or teach- 
ers; and if there is war, they all turn soldiers. 

All the Balkan races are very fond of music. Their melodies 



and musical motifs are often used by European composers of 
musical comedies. The women have great skill, and show good 
taste in making embroideries. The so-called Bulgarian em- 
broidery is often admired in this country. 

The Balkan nations are also great dancers. Their summer 
picnics and other out-door socials are charming affairs. There 
we find beautiful girls, their hair adorned with flowers, dressed 
in sleeveless embroidered blouses. Outside of the villages they 
build a bonfire, sitting around it and singing national songs. Soon 
they are joined by young men in their best attire, with daggers in 
their wide belts, and the girls at once arise and refuse to sit down 
again until their male friends request them to do so. A'nd again 
they begin to sing, this time in the form of questions and answers. 
And then they dance the so-called "Kolo" (all around the fire). 
The men behave well, and no ill-chosen word is allowed to destroy 
the delicate procedure of love-making. After the dance the girls 
pin their flowers to their wooers' breast as a token of affection. 

The moral standard is exemplary. And the simple, mostly 
out-door life led by the Balkan Slavs, accounts for their good 
health and longevity. Centenarians are not rare in the Balkan. 
Families with 12 to 14 children are by no means unusual. For- 
merly, newly married couples used to live and work on the farm 
of the bridegroom's parents, but in later years this practice has 
been abandoned. Conditions became too crowded. If the young 
scion of a large family is studiously inclined, the family will 
save for years in order to ena)ble the ambitious child to obtain a 
higher education. If the student enters one of the professions, 
the whole family — of course — shares in the glory. 

Balkan proverbs are very characteristic. For instance : **You 
cannot extinguish fire with straw." — "There are no heroes with- 
out wounds." — "The vineyard needs not prayer, but the spade." 
— "The Amen cannot be cashed." — "He who chases two hares, 
will not catch any." — "The angry buyer has empty pockets." — 
"He who drinks on credit becomes doubly intoxicated." — 
"Health without money is the worst disease." — "A word does 
not make a hole." 

Or such proverbs in rhyme : 



"Death destroys — ^exterminates, 
Hath for nobody regard. 
With death, Hfe slowly exfoliates, 
Against death there is no guard. 

Everyone from near and far, 
And dear to our loving heart, 
If called before the eternal bar: 
Forever he then must part." 

This, of course, is only a very faint and incomplete picture of 
the Balkan Slavs at home. We shall now proceed to the 
question : 

What is the actual or potential contribution of these nations 
to American culture and the enrichment of American life? 

Unless we are prepared to admit that wealth is the basis of 
civilization and culture, there can b'e no speculation as to the 
value and desirability of these peoples in our midst. 

They are the producers of wealth, and without wealth there 
is no civilization. 

Their actual contribution to American civilization is hard 
work, performed with pride and enthusiasm. America always 
needs hard-thinking and hard-working men and women. The 
native American of today is over-specialized. We have too many 
experts, drawing high salaries in return for a few hours' service. 
We have highly over-paid experts in corporation law, psychology 
and medicine; we have hairdressing, manicuring and finger- 
print experts, and what not. And, as a consequence, we often 
run short of everything, and if it were not for the strong muscles 
of those people from the Balkan, we might revert to barbarity. 

The very basis of our life is agriculture! Now, these people 
from the Balkan are skilled farmers and horticulturists. They 
are experts in gardening; they are mining our coal, and forging 
our iron and steel. The people of Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Lacka- 
wanna and Gary, Indiana, can tell us what the Serbs, Croatians 
and Slovenes mean to America, and all the steamship companies 
appreciate the value of the Dalmatian longshoremen to the ship- 
ping business. 

Now-a-days, coal, steel and iron are essential to our very 
existence. These are the basic industries, without which our life 



would be wretched and miserable. The Balkan Slavs are mostly 
represented in these basic industries. It was due chiefly to their 
great exertion that the war was won by the Allies. Shortage of 
coal, steel and iron is responsible for Russia's debacle. Russia 
had twenty million fighting men, but owing to the break-down 
of her rolling stock and the impossibility to repllace it, Russia 
nearly perished. Without sufficient coal and steel, that is rolling 
stock, iNew York would starve and not a single house could be 
built. And if all of us enjoy a fair degree of comfort, we are 
indebted above all to the strong and sound muscles of the Balkan 
Slavs and their great endurance. 

Without the hard toil of these people, Andrew Carnegie might 
have died a telegraph operator and America could not boast of 
magnificent libraries and other foundations for the advance- 
ment of science; and only he who is cognizant of these facts, 
can grasp the extent of the actual or potential contribution by 
the Balkan Slav to American culture and the enrichment of 
American life. 

The moral qualities and artistic nature of the Balkan Slav 
have been mentioned before. 

There is a great difference of opinion regarding the effects 
(moral, social and economic) of immigration upon American 
standards of living. However, a comprehensive inquiry of the 
United States Immigration Commission into the antecedents of 
workers in the mines and manufacturing establishments has 
shown that more than 50% are of foreign birth, and that thirty- 
seven of the fifty-six distinct races employed, came from the 
South and East of Europe. 

It has been said that immigrants from Southern Europe are 
on the lowest level of the industrial scale. Personally, I do not 
consider railroad repairs, done chiefly by Croatians and Slovenes, 
as the lowest level of the industrial scale. Of course, imany 
thousands of newcomers have not had any industrial training 
and experience abroad, and can at first be employed only as 
common or unskilled laborers, but they are able and willing to 
learn, and after a year they are promoted to other tasks requiring 
skill and involving better pay. 

It has been ascertained by the Immigration Commission after 



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careful study, that approximately one tenth of all families in- 
vestigated owned their homes and that the percentage of home 
owners among the native whites was less than half as large as 
among immigrants. Less than 6% of natives, and more than 
io% of the foreign-horn owned their homes. In the latter 
category the Slovenians ranked with more than ii%. How- 
ever, we may assume that, owing to war prosperity, this figure 
has doubled. 

As to the question: 

"What are the qualities and characteristics of the Balkan 
Slavs, that prevent their adjustment to American life?", I would 
say that no such qualities or characteristics exist. If they fail to 
adjust themselves to American life, it is because American 
society does not care for them; because America on the whole 
has no understanding for them; because they are considered by 
Americans as inferior races ; because they are often without pro- 
tection ; because they are treated as outlaws ; and because their 
life and health means less to the native American than the life 
and health of a dog. In the industrial centres, they are called 
Hunkies, Huns. They have no standing in the community and 
justice is often granted them with reluctance. The native Amer- 
ican isolates himself from the immigrants as if they were afflicted 
with a contageous disease. There is no social intercourse between 
natives and these immigrants, and intermarriages are rare. And 
these deplorable conditions afford an opportunity for the most 
pernicious influences of criminal schemers, usurping for them- 
selves the right to guide and direct the immigrant. From the 
representative of his native land down to the crooked lawyer and 
fake-banker, all prey upon the immigrant, and the worst influence 
is exerted by certain organs of the foreign language press which 
rarely finds a good word for American institutions, always 
pointing out the crimes committed in this country and never 
mentioning the many noble qualities, broadmindedness and 
natural sense of justice of the genuine American. This type of 
immigrant press has but one object: to control public opinion 
in immigrant localities ; to give publicity to its unreliable banking 
and money- forwarding schemes ; to secure deposits from immi- 

II 



grants without giving them sufficient security; and to supply the 
immigrants with foreign news of special interest. 

This immigrant press is often subsidized and controlled by 
foreign Consuls and Legations and everything is done to prevent 
the immigrant's Americanization. 

The same may be said of immigrant churches. Prior to the 
World War, Russia had comparatively few genuine Greek- 
Orthodox emigrants. Yet, no less than 800 priests and mission- 
aries were supported in this country by the former Russian Holy 
Synod of St. Petersburg. There were so few real Russians in 
the United States that the Russian Church authorities, after 
erecting a magnificent Cathedral in Chicago, had to appoint a 
Jew trustee of the Church. This, of course, . was done for 
political purposes — mere Pan-Slavistic propaganda. The same 
policy was pursued by the Magyars. The Hungarian Govern- 
ment sudsidized Magyar churches in this country of less than 
ten members. 

For the salvation of Croatian and Dalmatian souls, the Russian 
missionaries considered themselves as the only divine agents. 
Serbia, as a matter of fact, had only very few nationals in this 
country, and was too poor to support churches. Yet, a year 
after the creation of Jugo-Slavia, the Consul General of that 
country had to be sent home by our State Department, because 
he attempted, through corruption and intimidation, to secure 
control of a Croatian paper published in New York City. 

These are the powerful agencies and characteristic phenomena 
which prevent the Balkan Slavs from adjusting themselves to 
American life. It is to be deeply regretted, that the native 
churches do little or nothing at all to promote fellowship of 
natives and foreigners, such as exists among the natives. The 
native churches are indifferent to immigrants, and their inaction 
is due to race prejudice and the alienation of the church from 
the poor laborer. 

The Roman Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, the 
Y. M. C. A., are passing by a great opportunity for patriotic 
service in this regard. The conditions interfering with the intel- 
ligent understanding of the Balkan Slav group in the United 
States are the total lack of proper agencies, educational and 



12 



social institutions, which could acquaint Americans with these 
foreign groups; the amazing indifference of the native American 
to immigrants; and the recent galHng propaganda of certain 
ultra-chauvinistic papers against immigrants in general^ and the 
helpless, ignorant and friendless foreign element in particular. 

Now, as there can be no difference of opinion in regard to a 
certain class of immigration being not only desirable, but of vital 
importance to this country, and as all of us realize that a constant 
influx of new blood and brawn is essential to the operation of 
mining, manufacturing, road building, gardening and farming 
enterprises, there remains the problem of selecting and Ameri- 
canizing the immigrant. There can be no question that America 
has a right, yea, a sacred duty to determine who is to be admitted 
to these shores and who is to be rejected, not only because those 
admitted are liable to become a public charge, but also because 
they are apt to destroy Anglo-Saxon civilization and American 
ideals. 

With this end in view, I believe our established agencies to be 
inadequate. Even under the present restrictive immigration law, 
on occasions where the S. S. Companies are rushing in their 
human freight in order not to exceed the quota permitted, it is 
impossible for the immigration authorities properly to sift that 
human material. Always predisposed toward sparing immigrants 
and their families trouble, so far as possible, the process of selec- 
tion is naturally incomplete, and for that reason it will ultimately 
be necessary to establish Immigration Agencies in those European 
countries which are the principal labor supply centres for the 
United States. There, on the spot, the American Agency could 
not only make the preliminary examination of the prospective 
immigrant's health and mentality, but also ascertain the essential 
data with regard to his pedigree, his past moral behavior, in 
short : his record. Only in this manner shall we be able to exclude 
criminals and the insane. 

As to the final question : 

"What, then, should constitute the emphasis in the educational 
program outlined for them?", I should condense this program 
to a few words : Teach the immigrant English, and when he is 
able to follow you, instruct him in civic matters; remind him 

13 



constantly of his privileges and his duties towards this country. 
In this manner you will Americanize him. By learning English, 
he will emancipate himself from the pernicious influence of 
foreign agencies and from other pestilential factors. He will 
begin to appreciate clearly the difference between liberty and 
oppression, (between democracy and autocracy, or criminal olig- 
archy. He will not blindly follow degenerate and corrupt demag- 
ogues, and he will learn to distinguish the legal froim the illegal, 
the possible from the impossible. 

Here is a wide field for patriotic work, for teachers and 
educators, and for all with good will toward this country. 

The Inter-Racial Council has so far been engaged in collecting 
daita and studying the immigrant, his life and attitude, and it is 
now time to begin constructive work through education and pro- 
tection. In every community of this country where foreigners 
are settled, irrespective whether temporarily or permanently, the 
Inter-Racial Council should establish a branch office acting under 
the direction or advice of a central organization; and school 
teachers, city officials and other responsible persons should com- 
pose the committees in control of the branches of the Inter- 
Racial Council. Distinterested lawyers and district attorneys , 
should be invited to employ all possible means in the protection 
of the immigrant, irrespective of whether the law-breaker be an 
American or a fellow-countryman of the victim. 

Foreigners coming here to toil without knowledge of the 
language of the country and of American institutions, are like 
mute children. They need guidance and protection. European 
administrations are paternal, their criminal procedure is inquis- 
itive. Here we are supposed to govern and to protect ourselves. 
A victimized imimigrant cannot understand why we are not al- 
ways able to protect him, because he does not know anything 
about the constitutional guarantee accorded a defendant, nor is 
he aware that the whole hurden of proof rests on the accuser. 
Again, it is not unusual for an immigrant to be convicted of 
crimes he never committed, because of his inability to follow the 
proceedings, while the absolutely incompetent Court interpreters 
are often called upon to interpret a language which is more 
foreign and unknown to them than the language of this country 

14 



is to the immigrant. In European countries. Court interpreters 
are educated people with legal training, while in this country 
these public servants are mainly drafted from quarters where no 
one would expect to find them. 

During my many years' experience with foreigners, innum- 
erable tragedies directly resulting from the immigrant's ignor- 
ance of English have come to my attention. 

Familiarity with the language of this country will also open 
the immigrant's eyes and liberate him from his Consul's 
guardianship. 

In conclusion, it may be of interest to mention where Balkan 
Slavs are located in this country, that is : in which States they 
are working and prospering. 

Serbians, Croatians, Dalmatians, Montenegrins are to be found 
in larger groups in Montana, California, Washington, Minnesota, 
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Oregon, Iowa, Nevada, South Dakota, 
Ohio, and even in Kentucky ; while Bulgarians in larger numbers 
have permanently or temporarily settled in the States of Wash- 
ington, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, 
West Virginia, Ohio, Nevada, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, 
Wisconsin, Arkansas and Indiana. 

Their principal occupations in this country are: mining (coal, 
ore and minerals), manufacturing of steel and iron; ranching; 
farming; gardening; shipping; repairing of roads; railroad and 
canal construction ; and other work most essential to our well- 
being. 

The Balkan Slavs are not congesting our cities, and though 
segregated in the industrial centres of this country, they can still 
be reached by those patriotic Americans who have a sympathetic 
understanding for the needs of the country, and who are willing 
to take part in educating and protecting the immigrant. Im- 
migrant Aid Societies should be controlled only by Americans. 
Personally, I have no confidence in Aid Societies controlled and 
managed by foreigners or Americans of foreign birth, as too 
much foreign politics enters into such organizations. American 
citizens of foreign extraction should 'b'e consulted and trusted 
only after proof of their not being affiliated with foreign govern- 
ments ; of having no ambition to receive decorations from foreign 

15 



potentates; and of their work not being subsidized by foreign 
governments. Mingle with the foreigner, take an interest in 
him and his family, and you will see that he will soon trust you 
more than his own countrymen. If be still deals with the banker, 
notary public, steamship agent and others of his own nationality, 
it is because he is compelled to do so, his ignorance of English 
preventing him from applying to real American institutions. 

Besides the teaching of English, social features (such as 
parties, dances, visiting, etc.) should be provided for. The 
immigrant should be brought into a close relationship of a per- 
sonal and sympathetic nature, and he should be made to feel at 
home. If we accomplish this, we shall earn his gratitude and 
appreciation, and thus Americanize the immigrant. 



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